An analysis of the prevalence of cognitive dysfunction among patients undergoing cardiac surgery

The high prevalence of cardiovascular diseases and risk factors for their development remains a major health public problem. The use of highly effective (including cardiac surgery) treatment methods requires timely diagnosis and correction of possible complications. According to the literature data the frequency of postoperative cognitive dysfunction and the commonality of risk factors for its development have become a subject of scientific interest in recent years. Cognitive decline can cause partial or complete dependence of the patient on external help in everyday life. The results of the analysis of the prevalence of cognitive dysfunction and risk factors associated with cognitive dysfunction among patients undergoing cardiac surgery are presented. Our work involved 64 people, including 18 (28%) women and 46 (72%) men, aged 50 to 77 years (mean age 66 (5.8) years). The frequency of pre-dementia disorders in the Mini-Kog test was 29.6% and 62.5% of respondents scored 3 or less. In the ‘clock drawing’ test, only 4.7% of the study subjects were able to obtain the maximum score. The analysis of the MMSE test showed that 19.1% of people have no cognitive impairment, the frequency of pre-dementia cognitive impairment was 34.9%, the results corresponding to mild dementia showed 41.3% of participants, and the average - 4.8%. According to the results of two tests, Mini-Kog and MMSE, 25 (39.7%) of the participants showed cognitive impairment, only 1 of them could cope with the ‘clock drawing’ test. Summarising all the tests, we can say that only 2 people scored the number of points confirming the absence of cognitive impairment.